Hard disk drives are commonly used for storing and retrieving digital information using rapidly rotating discs or platters coated with magnetic material. Digital information is transferred between a hard disk drive and a computing device by virtue of an electrical connector forming part of the hard disk drive. Conventional electrical connectors include non-feedthrough connectors (e.g., P2 connectors) and feedthrough connectors.
Feedthrough connectors are defined by a plurality of electrical connections extending from outside the housing of an electronic device, such as a hard disk drive, to within an interior cavity of the electronic device. The portion of the electrical connections external to the housing are electrically coupled to a mating electrical connector of a computing device, while the portion of the electrical connections internal to the housing are electrically coupled to various components within the interior cavity.
Conventional feedthrough connectors are often difficult to couple to the housing of an electronic device, especially in circumstances where the interior cavity of the housing is sealed and maintained at a certain condition (e.g., pressure, temperature, air composition, etc.). For example, certain hard disk drives greatly benefit from a housing that isolates the interior cavity and the contents of the hard disk drive from the atmosphere exterior to the housing.
Further, conventional feedthrough connectors often experience severe and repeated mechanical stress caused by thermal cycling of the feedthrough connectors. In other words, different materials often utilized in forming and sealing the feedthrough connector within a feedthrough aperture of a hermetically sealed chamber have different coefficients of thermal expansion. Such non-uniformity of thermal expansion between components may impart mechanical stress and strain to the components, especially at the joints between components of the feedthrough connector assembly. Mechanical stress and strain can cause cracks and/or fractures to form in the feedthrough connector assembly, which may jeopardize the integrity of the hermetically sealed environment.
Some conventional solutions involve utilizing materials that have similar coefficients of thermal expansion, which may decrease the mechanical stress and strain caused by repeated thermal cycling. However, the manufacturing processes associated with the use of materials with matching coefficients of thermal expansion tend to significantly increase the cost of manufacturing and materials.